


Once Upon a Time

by Fitzsimmonshield (fitzsimmonsshield)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Disney AU, F/M, FitzSimmons - Freeform, Fluff, Happy, Magic vs Science, One-Shot, magical au, or maybe not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-24 22:04:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4937035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fitzsimmonsshield/pseuds/Fitzsimmonshield
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma is a character actor at Disney World. Fitz is a prospective SHIELD student, who, for part of his application to get into the SHIELD Academy has to study Disney engineering. Fitz finds difficulty in what should otherwise be a simple task. But it's a day at Disney World, how terrible can Fitz find it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once Upon a Time

**Author's Note:**

> I had so much fun writing this. I think I may write a sequel. I think I left it in kind of an unfair place.
> 
> PS: I have NEVER actually been to Disney. Which.is.so.depressing.  
> I've been to Florida lots of times, have been to Universal there, but every time we always passed the Disney exit, smashing my hopes and dreams as a kid. So I did my best recreating what I imagined it to be from pictures and family and friends experiences.
> 
> Someone wanna get me to Disney?

It was the happiest place on Earth, apparently. But, with screaming children and the humidity already unbearable for the Scotsman, it was looking like it was going to be the longest day of his life.

In truth, he should have ditched the long sleeve flannel shirt for a short-sleeve button up. And maybe, just maybe, he should have looked into a pair of shorts. After all, the Academy was located in the States; he was going to have to get acclimated to the climate. 

The Academy. His dream. There was no other school out there for him. He needed to go there, especially after touring MIT and falling asleep while he sat in at a lecture. It didn’t satisfy him. The application process for the Academy was filled with strange things. And this, a visit to Disney World, was one of them. 

Nervous, anxious, and in a grouchy mood, Leo Fitz shuffled forward in the line, digging in his pocket for his ticket. The toddler in the family in front of him was wailing. On and on. The parents were too busy wrestling with their boisterous kindergartener to console the baby. They kept shuffling around their bags to find their tickets. This was going to take forever. When the mother looked back at Fitz, Fitz tried to offer a sympathetic smile. But the impatient look surfaced stronger on his face.

Once the bumbling family finally got through, with their kids that were too young to even remember the trip, Fitz passed through the booth, adjusted his SHIELD Academy baseball cap, grabbed a map, and headed off to find shade to plan out the day. He had a small notebook in his back pocket to write down notes, a cell phone to take pictures, and a ripped out paper from the Academy application that begged 'How does Disney engineer magic?'

Fitz spent the remainder of the morning hanging about some of the bigger attractions. He took pictures of anything that was visible. He went on two of the rides that had shorter lines, and would be reluctant to admit he enjoyed them. None of what he had been doing was turning the switch on any lightbulbs in his head. With a stomach beginning to growl, Fitz moseyed over to Epcot just around 1 pm. Figuring anything he would buy would be expensive, he headed to the French pavilion because he could get breakfast food. Good ol’ breakfast food.

Fitz picked a creperie, and sat down in a quiet alley that was bordered off by a pastel painted fence. Crepes, breakfast food for anytime of the day really. In the three hours he had been there, he finally had some peace and quiet. 

When he was nearly done with the crepe, he took a break, splaying out his legs and leaning his back against a well-manicured tree. His notebook laid out on his lap, he tried to write down the answer to the Academy’s prompt. No luck. It was hard. He could write about all the physics involved and could go into greater detail about what powered the contraptions, but couldn’t write how Disney creates magic.

Saving him from his worrisome thoughts, he picked up a voice around the corner, light, cheerful, but commanding. It drew attention. He didn’t even have to see the woman it belonged to, to already feel charmed. His cheeks flushed. He blamed it on the stifling heat.

He turned his head just in time to see a poofy yellow dress round the corner. Intricately designed with sagging fabric, and sewn-in rhinestones, the dress was the brightest thing around, and that was saying a lot at Disney. His eyes slowly made there way up the dress, to her torso, where one gloved hand stayed at her side. The other was in the air, waving delicately to a gaggle of little girls who jumped up and down. One of the little girls ran forward from the small crowd and wrapped her arms around Belle’s legs. Or, at the very least, hugged the frame of the dress underneath the fabric. Belle crouched down and pulled the girl in for a hug. As she pulled away, she whispered something into her ear, which caused the girl to shriek in delight. She ran back to her parents, and in a sing-song voice called out ‘Belle said I’m a princess!’

Fitz smiled. 

Belle, and her handlers, turned back to the alley and made their way. Belle smiled as she came up to Fitz.

“Crepes, my favorite! And I see you have a thing for science!” Belle cajoled with a nod to his hat.

“Y-you know about the SHIELD Academy?” Fitz responded, lifting a hand to hold the rim of his hat. He got a better look at her this way as well, shifting the hat further back on his head. Her face was more radiant then the dress.

“I love to read, and science books are some of my favorite,” Belle responded out loud.

She then bent down, not a full crouch like she did to hug the little girl, but close enough so be level with Fitz’ ears.

“Plus, this Belle sent in her own application to the SHIELD Academy,” she said, but her voice had changed. She had a British accent, and the cheerful factor that hung in her speaking voice had dropped an octave.

Fitz looked at her and marveled.

“Is it as easy for you as I wish it was easy for me?” he said back to her, as she started to stand upright. One of her handlers called out her name- Belle of course. They had gone ahead and opened a door in the fence for her to escape through.

Belle quickly leaned back down to Fitz.  
“Can you meet me, 9 pm at Epcot in front of the Rose and Crown Pub?” She hastily said.

And before he could think about his next words, Fitz accepted.

Belle, quickly, but elegantly stood back up straight. She gave him one last smile and dashed away. She called back to him to have a magical afternoon. The smile on Fitz’ face lingered, and faded out long after she slipped through the gate.

When he finally regained control over his brain, he finished his lunch and wondered what he was going to do for the next eight or so hours.

The answer was to continue trudging on to find the answer.

How does Disney engineer magic?

Fitz toiled away at his objective. The answers weren’t coming to him. Just when he thought he was on to something, the very answer didn’t sound magical. His brain was beginning to swell, from the heat, the shrieking- both happy and agitated children, and the mounting frustration over his biggest obstacle to date.

At around four, the Floridian humidity won, and for a solid ten minutes, it rained so hard the Glaswegian native closed his eyes and could almost imagine he was among the cobbled streets of his birth. Then a too cheery announcement blaring right behind his head skewered the happy prospect. The rain cleared out a lot of the parks, families had panicked over the rain and headed back to their hotels early. The less-crowded parks made the rest of the day a little bit more bearable for the scientist. 

At around seven, Fitz retired to find dinner. The crepe had been delicious, but left him rather starved in the end. He sought out an artisanal Italian café and waited for a half hour to be seated. The waiter looked at him a bit sadly since he was all alone. He bet there weren’t too many people that ventured to Disney all by themselves. Perusing the menu, his stomach made the decision easy when it growled as he read the description for a prosciutto and mozzarella panini with just a hint of pesto aioli. When it arrived to his table it looked just about perfect. It was delicious, and it was love at first bite.

Fitz took his time at dinner and sauntered over to the Rose and Crown Pub where he waited outside fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. The crowd, which had thinned out earlier due to the rain, had redoubled. Everyone was apparently out now for the fireworks display. He still felt anxious over not coming up with any answers, but at least he had another week before the application was due.

Belle was early as well, and when Fitz saw someone waving to him from across the crowd he at first thought he was seeing things. 

“Well, that is surely no way to greet a princess!” Belle said in a sarcastic huff. Her British accent was real.

“I didn’t recognize you without the big dress and the ball of hair on your head,” Fitz blundered through words, his hands flung to his own head to make a circular motion as if to mimic the bun hairstyle Belle wears.

She rolled her eyes, but the large smile she carried with it said it was only playful. Her hair was shoulder-length and straight, with bangs swept to the side. She still had on some of the heavy make-up she wore for the character, but it only served to make her lovely features stand out more. She exchanged the big ball gown for simple skinny jeans and a grey button-up short-sleeve blouse accentuated with a cotton infinity scarf. 

“I’m Jemma, by the way,” she slid her right hand out of her back pocket to offer it to Fitz.

“Fitz… Leo…,” he responded, accustomed more to his last name, and accepted her handshake. 

“Well, Fitz Leo, want to talk science?” she said eagerly.

“Isn’t it a bit loud here for that?” he said. It was true, since the crowd swelled in size the noise was catastrophic and they had been straining their voices to speak.

“After the show!” Jemma crooned. Suddenly, she linked her arm with his and pulled him around the corner of the restaurant. Fitz, nearly knocked off balance by her sudden movement, stumbled after her. Most of the lights in the park promptly dimmed or shut off, and a voice over the PA announced the show was starting.

“This is one of the best spots,” Jemma said, it was quieter around the corner, where the noise didn’t echo off as much. Jemma stood next to him, her shoulder brushing his. Her arm still interlinked as well. But she looked forward to the castle, and when Fitz turned to her to nod, her eyes were locked into the first fireworks racing up over the castle. He caught their bursts in the sparkle of her eyes. His stomach, happily filled, turned over with delight. He felt something ache. She was radiant.

A smile crept back up on Fitz’ face. He turned his own head forward, and enjoyed the fifteen minute closing firework show in awe, warmed by the light pressure of her body gently leaning on his, and the fire exploding in front of them.

When the last fireworks faded into the night sky, the smell of gunpowder lingered as Jemma led them through the crowd. It was leaving time but she was walking to a different direction.

“How did you get here? Car? Shuttle?” Jemma asked, maneuvering past an overtired family. Fitz struggled to keep up.

“Shuttle,” he replied.

“Good, we’ll take my car since I’m parked in the employee lot. Much quicker exit,” she said.

Once they beat around the crowd, Jemma flashed her badge at a security guard who let them both pass into a quiet parking lot. Here, she slowed her walking pace, and Fitz was able to stroll along side quite comfortably. The smell of gunpowder had reached all the way out here.

“So, you’re applying to the SHIELD Academy as well?” Fitz asked.

“I just sent in my application a week ago. I’m biochem,” she responded. Fitz was a tad jealous she had finished it so early, while he still struggled.

“I’m engineering,” Fitz proudly replied.

“So I bet you’re here to answer that question 'how does Disney concoct magic?'” Jemma threw it out there.

“Mine is actually 'how does Disney engineer magic?'” Fitz corrected.

“It seems they change it for each concentration. Did you find the answer then?” Jemma mused. 

Fitz pushed out a sigh. Jemma conceived that was a definite no. She stopped, not to add dramatic flair, but to unlock her car, which they had come upon. 

“It’s a lease so don’t… bang your head on the dashboard,” she laughed, ducking in to the drivers seat. Fitz was almost going to enter through the same door and then remembered Americans drove on the 'wrong' side of the road. 

As soon as she started the engine, the air condition clicked on, and Fitz welcomed the cool air. Soft rock music floated out of the speakers at a low volume.

“It’s the only question on the application that has thrown me for a complete loop. I thought visiting the actual park would resolve it instantly,” Fitz confided.

“I definitely have the advantage of working at Disney, it took me just a moment to answer it,” Jemma pulled out of the lot and on to a private street. Fitz clutched the edge of the seat before remembering… Americans drive on the 'wrong' side of the road.  
“It’s the last thing I need to send in my application, but I’m completely stuck. By the way that little girl that hugged you was quite adorable,” Fitz watched the trees go by, afraid to see her reaction to the last thing he said.

“That’s magic,” Jemma countered. 

Fitz’ head swiveled around to look at her. Perplexed, because he didn’t understand, but also was enchanted by her positivity.

“I mean, I don’t actually believe in magic, but it’s formulaic. When I’m the princess, I have it down to a precise science on how to act. And much of it is knowing what to say on the fly to a unique child or a cheeky parent, a lot of preparation goes into it. I excel at preparation. And I’m glad you thought my reigning was sublime today, I’ve been hungover for hours,” Jemma concluded with a laugh.

Fitz unhinged his jaw ever so slightly to demonstrate surprise. “That’s mental,” he retorted.

“If I didn’t have this much make-up on you would surely see the bags under my eyes,” she added.

Jemma turned off the long road they had been on to a main road, the official exit for the employees it looked to be. She ventured down a few more streets until she came upon a town center alive with nightlife. Jemma soon found a parking spot and the pair were headed into a bar. They stopped for drinks before she led Fitz up a few flights of stairs to the rooftop. It was empty, but there were a few chairs set up along with a table. She had done this before, making a comment on how this was her after work spot with her cast mates, but they would be by much later.

They sat in silence, sipping their beer and cocktail for a while, looking out to the Orlando panorama splayed before them.

“You want to know how they engineer magic?” Jemma spoke, her voice drifting into the night. Her voice was so soft. It called attention to how quiet this spot was compared to everywhere else he had been today. Fitz didn’t respond, and Jemma took it as a cue to continue.

“They don’t engineer- or concoct magic in the working parts. It’s not the gears that make it run or the organic materials used to fill the air with pleasant smells or relaxing music. It’s that they take the simplistic core values of life and amplify them. They meticulously planned every detail to avoid a certain warmth, to make every guest feel special, to make every little girl feel like a princess. SHIELD doesn't want to know if you can build it, they want to know if you can dream it, and that, dear Fitz Leo, is magic. Did you feel that at all today?”

Jemma’s words permeated through Fitz’ skin. It flushed him with a wave of feeling he wasn’t going to admit he felt. But the first thing he thought of was the way the fireworks looked exploding in her eyes. And then he thought about the way her shoulder pressing into his side felt. But those slowed heartbeat moments of her coming down the alley, seeing her for the first time consumed him. His day was magical purely because of her coming into his pallid and lackluster life.

Of course he wanted to spit all this out, confess his attraction, right then and there to her. A bead of sweat traveled down the side of his head. This brazen and beautiful woman had just said one of the most poetic things he heard in his life. He wanted to hear her speak forever.

But all Fitz could choke out was, “Yeah, I think so.”


End file.
